Posts

January 2020 – Mary Gerritsen

Submitted by Helge W. on Mon, 01/06/2020 - 10:55am

Mary GerritsenMary GerritsenWe are delighted to welcome back Mary Gerritsen from the San Francisco Bay area who will speak to us on ‘Miniature Orchids and How to Grow Them’.  Mary defines miniatures as those species whose individual growths are smaller than 6 inches not including the inflorescence.  These compact orchids are a popular choice for orchid hobbyists with limited growing space. In contrast to many of their larger counterparts, many miniature orchids are attractive in or out of bloom. Mary’s lecture will cover many of her favorite species as well as discussing the challenges and rewards of growing miniature orchids. Mary is an expert on this topic and has co-authored “A Compendium of Miniature Orchid Species” with San Francisco Bay area photographer and author, Ron Parsons.    Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 01/08/2020 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Annual Holiday Dinner 2019

Submitted by Helge W. on Mon, 11/11/2019 - 2:41pm

The Palomar Orchid Society will be holding their annual Holiday Dinner and Officer installation on Wednesday, December 4 at the Lake San Marcos Pavilion. This is the same location as last year and located right next to our current monthly meeting location at 1105 La Bonita Dr., San Marcos, CA 92078.

If you are interested in attending our fun dinner to celebrate the holidays with fellow orchidists, please fill out the form below and send it in with your check no later than Wednesday, November 20 as specified in the form below. No payments or reservation are accepted at the door!

Please contact Bill Wong by November 15 to reserve your place at the table. This would very much help us with getting a head count. Bill’s phone number is (818) 636-8709 and his email is billtcwong@att.net.   Read more »

November 2019 – Peter Lin

Submitted by Helge W. on Thu, 10/24/2019 - 1:35pm

Peter LinPeter LinWe are very happy to welcome back one of our more popular speakers, Peter T. Lin. Peter will share with us a power point presentation on the Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival, also know as the Tokyo Dome Show. This annual orchid show, held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, attracts over 300,000 visitors. With thousands of orchids featured, the show displays range from the very large displays to miniature dish gardens, to individual plants. Even the Vendor Sales area is like a Orchid show! One of the highlights of the show is the display of Asian Cymbidium species, featuring priceless Cymbidium goeringii varieties not seen in the US before. No need to travel….come and see a grand show from the comfort of our meeting room!

Peter started growing orchids over 25 years ago, but then stopped due to school and starting a career. It wasn't until about 7 years ago that the orchid "bug" came back and he is now heavily involved once again. He is an accredited judge with the American Orchid Society and a hybridizer of mini-cattleyas. He enjoys meeting with other orchid enthusiasts, and can often be found at various orchid shows and societies around the country. He also has hundreds of photos of his orchids that he maintains on Flickr.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 11/06/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

October 2019 – Alan Koch

Submitted by Helge W. on Sat, 09/28/2019 - 2:29pm

Alan KochAlan KochIt is a distinct pleasure to welcome back Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids in Lincoln, CA.  Alan will be speaking to us on ‘Cattleyas 365, 24/7’ where he will provide us the knowledge on how to build a cattleya collection that will flower all year long and tell us how to grow them.  Alan will highlight the species that have been used by hybridizers for years to control bloom time and his talk will be adapted to our climate conditions.  He also will provide the plant opportunity table including some of his novel hybrid cattleyas and related orchids. 

Alan’s visit is being co-sponsored by POS and SDCOS. He will be speaking on Oct. 1 in Balboa Park on ‘Unusual Species for the Cattleya Grower’. More details can be found on the SDCOS website.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 10/02/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

September 2019 – James Rose

Submitted by Helge W. on Wed, 09/04/2019 - 7:36am

James RoseJames RoseWe are delighted to welcome back James Rose of Cal-Orchid, Santa Barbara to speak to our society. James and his wife, Lauris, are the owners of Cal-Orchid, a very successful and favorite nursery of many of our members. James is a highly experienced orchid nurseryman who will share with us his ’10 Favorite Orchids’, which encompass a large variety of orchid species from around the world. James talks are always educational and highly entertaining so I urge our members and friends to attend his talk. James also will provide our plant table.

James is being sponsored jointly by POS and SDCOS, He will be speaking on the same subject at the SDCOS meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 3, if you are unable to attend on Wednesday evening.

James attended UC Santa Barbara as an anthropology major. In 1971 he began working at Santa Barbara Orchid Estate.  16 years later, now the nursery's manager, he left to established his own nursery with his wife, Lauris. In 1987 they purchased Orchids By Rowe, a 2 acre cymbidium nursery 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Jim and Lauris totally redesigned the former cymbidium cut flower business to what is now a world renowned orchid nursery providing one of the largest varieties of orchid species and hybrids in the U.S.

Cal-Orchid maintains an active breeding program and a stud collection built upon decades of international travel. James is very well known for having a distinctively selective 'eye' for the new, unusual plant, and Cal-Orchid's customers enjoy reaping the benefits.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 09/04/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

August 2019 – Arthur Pinkers

Submitted by Helge W. on Tue, 07/30/2019 - 11:41am
Arthur PinkersArthur PinkersWe are happy to welcome back Arthur Pinkers to our society who will speak to us on ‘Heat Tolerant Oncidiums’.  Arthur will inform us that these are a wonderful group of orchids that come from South and Central America and the Caribbean providing a diversity of size, shape and color. He will explore some of the species that provide warmth tolerance in hybrids and the hybrids themselves as we look at members that would be better suited for our Southern California environment. Arthur also will explore the cultural requirements these orchids need to be successful in our area. Arthur’s visit is being cosponsored by our society and SDCOS where he will be speaking on Tuesday evening on a separate topic in Balboa Park.
Arthur Pinkers has been an orchid enthusiast since the age of sixteen, when he acquired a plant of Slc. Glittering Jewel (Sl. Gratixiae x Slc. Hermes), which infected him with the orchid bug.  His forty plus years of experience growing orchids started in the Pacific Northwest with a green house to fend off the cold, rainy days, but a decade ago a job change forced him to move to Santa Clarita, California, where the conditions are extreme for growing orchids.
Growing up in the Seattle area, Arthur attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology.  He worked for many years as a chemist, and had the fortune of having his dream job as the Lab Director for Beall Orchid Company until shortly before its close in 1990.
Date: 
Wed, 08/07/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm
  Read more »

July 2019 – Norman Fang

Submitted by Helge W. on Tue, 07/02/2019 - 8:16pm

Norman FangNorman FangWe are delighted to welcome Mr. Norman Fang to our society for the first time. Norman will speak to us on ‘Development of Harelquin Phalaenopsis’, which resulted in a major advancement in the popularity of Phals due to the generation of unusually colored and spotted patterns of these most popular orchids. Norman’s visit is co-sponsored with the San Diego County Orchid Society, where he will speak on ‘New Color Forms of Phalaenopsis Species’ on Tuesday, July 2 in Balboa Park. All of our members are invited to the talk and meeting. These are presentations not to be missed by one of the world’s experts in this genre of orchids.  Norman also will provide the plant table for both societies.

Norman is the owner of Norma’s Orchids, located in Montclair, CA.  Even before 1988, when he received his degree in Ornamental Horticulture from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, Norman Fang was already immersed in orchids.  While still a student, he managed the Raymond Burr Orchid Collection on campus.  Two scholarships to study plant tissue culture also allowed him to study under Dr. Murashige at the University of California and Dr. Tanabe at the University of Hawaii.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 07/03/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

June 2019 – Paul Tuskes

Submitted by Helge W. on Sun, 06/02/2019 - 4:09pm

Paul TuskesPaul TuskesWe are delighted to welcome back Dr. Paul Tuskes of the San Diego County Orchid Society as our June speaker.  Paul will be giving us a talk on Schomburkias . His presentation will deal with three orchid genera Schomburgkia, Myrmecophila, and Laelia, which are really only two genera.  Paul will examine the similarities and differences between Schomburgkia and its relatives, including morphology and DNA sequencing. What makes a genus?  The rest of the talk will focus on the individual species and their culture… so bring your questions.  This group of orchids is generally great outdoor growers in our area and some should be included in everyone’s collection.

Paul is an excellent orchid grower and lecturer.  He has been growing orchids for over 30 years and his photographs have been used in various books and journals. He grows a wide variety of orchids in his greenhouse and outdoors.  Paul serves as an American Orchid Society judge and co-founded with his wife, Ann, the orchid species study group of the San Diego County Orchid Society. He was one of the first members of that society’s conservation group, which received a Conservation Achievement award from the American Orchid Society. Paul and Ann also have traveled in Central and South America to search for orchids in the wild.

This month’s opportunity table will be provided by one of our local orchid nurseries.

Date: 
Wed, 06/05/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

April 2019 – Fred Clarke

Submitted by Helge W. on Mon, 03/18/2019 - 11:16am

Fred ClarkeFred ClarkeIt is our distinct pleasure to welcome back one of our most favorite speakers, Fred Clarke. Fred will provide us with an update on his breeding efforts with Australian Dendrobiums in a talk title "Aussie Dendrobiums and Their Cultivation". Fred has been doing extensive work on improving the hybrids in this very interesting class of orchids. As several of you may know, Aussie Dends are very tough and hardy plants that do very well in our San Diego area. They are quite attractive orchids in that they are easy to grow, tolerant of heat and cold, have fragrant flowers, and re-bloom from the old bulbs!!!  They thrive in frost-free areas and do well alongside Cattleyas under shade structures so they are a popular class for many of us to grow outside year round. Fred will review the species and latest developments in breeding and growing of this popular class of orchids. Moreover, he will cover the best practices for growing these remarkable plants. Fred also will be supplying this month’s opportunity table.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 04/03/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

March 2019 – Ken Campbell & Alex Nadzan

Submitted by Helge W. on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 4:05pm

Two of our more experienced members, Ken Campbell and Alex Nadzan, will speak on growing orchids in a greenhouse and outdoors under shade cloth, respectively. They will share their conditions and tips for successful growing a variety of orchids under a climate controlled environment and outdoors. The presentation should be educational for both experienced and novice orchid growers alike. It is a timely topic to kick off the 2019 orchid growing season as your plants emerge from their winter resting period. The plant table this month is provided by Cal Orchid of Santa Barbara.

Ken Campbell and his pet pandaKen Campbell and his pet pandaWhen Ken Campbell’s in-laws passed away about 20 years ago, Ken took over their modest orchid collection, which consisted primarily of cattleyas.  Being an engineer at heart, and always willing to accept a new challenge, the first thing he decided he needed to do was to build a greenhouse... and as they say, the rest is history.

Over the years Ken’s appreciation of orchids has grown from not being able to even spell the word correctly (Ph. D. engineers are notoriously bad spellers), to being able to keep the plants alive (at least most of them), to actually getting some of them to bloom.  Ken says he owes a special thanks to the many knowledgeable individuals that have over the years helped him achieve the level of success and enjoyment he finds in orchids today.    Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 03/06/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm